Lounger recliner with backrest up and down and hardware therefor

ABSTRACT

This recliner-lounger has a backrest which can be moved up and down between lowered and raised positions, when the chair is in its upright position, by actuating a manual handle. The chair is locked in its &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;down&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; position if the handle is not rotated and is locked in its upright sitting position until the backrest is raised. The backrest is locked when in its &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;up&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; position at which time the chair can move to its T.V. and recline positions and back again, during which time operation of the handle is prevented. A retractable footrest can be projected when moving to the T.V. position and the mechanism can be moved to the fully reclined position. Lowering of the backrest may be accomplished after the recline mechanism is returned to the upright position.

United States Patent 91 Katz et a1.

[ Nov. 26, 1974 [75] Inventors: Alex J. Katz, West Orange; Robert J. Caldwell, Bloomfield, both of N..l.; Izchak Cycowicz, Brooklyn, N .Y.

[73] Assignee: Mohasco Industries,lnc.,

Amsterdam, N.Y.

Ferguson 297/85 Rogers, Jr. et al 297/85 Rogers, Jr. et a1 297/85 Primary ExaminerRoy D. Frazier Assistant Examiner-William E. Lyddane Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Felshin and Feldman [57] ABSTRACT This recliner-lounger has a backrest which can be moved up and down between lowered and raised positions, when the chair is in its upright position, by actuating a manual handle. The chair is locked in its down position if the handle is not rotated and is locked in its upright sitting position until the backrest is raised. The backrest is locked when in its up position at which time the chair can move to its TV. and recline positions and back again, during which time operation of the handle is prevented. A retractable footrest can be projected when moving to the TV. position and the mechanism can bemgvedto the fully recline d positiorifleowering of the backrest may be accomplished after the recline mechanism is returned to the upright position.

11 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures sum 2 [IF 5 PATENTLLGVZBISH SHEEI \L [If 5 PATENTEL. 2 2 1 PATENTMBYZBIQH I 3'.B50.475

' SHEET 5 [IF 5 I LOUNGER RECLINER WITH BACKREST UP AND DOWN AND HARDWARE THEREFOR Certain parts of this application are disclosed in application Ser. No. 282,847 filed Aug. 22, 1972, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,150, by Robert J. Caldwell and Alex J. Katz, two of the joint inventors herein and assigned to the assignee of the present application.

This invention relates to lounger recliners provided with a backrest which is movable up and down and hardware therefor. One object of this invention is to generally improve the locking construction disclosed in said copending application Ser. No. 282,847 filed Aug. 22, 1972, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,150, by Robert J. Caldwell and Alex J. Katz, for Chair With Backrest Movable Up and Down and Hardware Therefor.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a recliner-lounger movable from upright sitting position to T.V. and fully reclined positions and with a backrest movable up and down, and with a projectable and retractable leg rest, with said backrest under control of a manual handle, highly improved means to lock the backrest in its down position, to lock the recliner in the upright position of the chair until the backrest is raised, and to lock the chair against movement back to T.V. or fully reclined position when the backrest is not in its up position.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a sturdy, strong and durable mechanism for a chair of the characterdescribed, that shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to manipulate and which shall yet be practical and efficient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described and of which the scope of invention will be indicated in the following claims. ln the drawings:

P16. 1 is a side elevational view of the inside of the hardware embodying the invention on the right side of the chair, showing the same in upright sitting position, with the legrest retracted and the backrest in its down position;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to HO. 1, but showing the backrest in raised or up" position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FlG. 2, but showing the mechanism in T.V. position;

FlG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing the mechanism in fully reclined position;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view taken in line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a partial rear view of the chair and linkages, looking forwardly; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, 10 designates a chair embodying the invention. Said chair comprises a chair frame having side arms 11. Fixed to the insides of the sides of the chair are support or mounting plates 12. In FIG. 1, only the left facing support plate 12 is shown. This plate is on the right side of the chair frame. Said plate has an upper edge 15 and a rear upper 'end edge 16 and a rear lower end edge 17 disposed some what forwardly of said edge 16. Pivoted to plate '12, at 18, is a rear bell crank 19 having a rear, downwardly extending arm 20 and a front, forwardly extending arm 21. Pivoted to the lower end of arm 20, as at 22, is the rear end of a connector link 23. The forward end of arm 21 is pivoted as rivet 25, to an intermediate portion of a rear carrier lever 26. The upper end of rear carrier link 26 is pivoted, as at 27, to a seat link 28. The seat link is fixed to the seat of the chair (not shown) in any suitable manner. The lower arm of rear carrier link 26 is formed with a longitudinal slot 30, for the purpose hereinafter appearing.

Pivoted to the inner side of support plate 12, adjacent the upper edge 13 of said plate and about midway between the ends of said plate, as on rivet 12a is a forward bell crank 29 having a rear downwardly extending arm 31 and a forwardly extending arm 32. The forward end of link 23 is pivoted, as by rivet 33, to the lower end of arm 31 of forward end of arm 32 of bell crank 29, is pivoted, as by rivet 34, to an arm 35 of a bell crank 36. Said arm 35 extends rearwardly (FIG. I), from its junction with upwardly extending arm 37. The upper end of arm 37 is pivoted, as by rivet 38, to the seat link 28 somewhat rearwardly of the forward end of said seat link.

Pivoted to the forward end of the seat link 28, as by rivet 40 is a lever 41 forming part of a legrest linkage 42. Lever 41 extends downwardly in the retracted condition of the legrest. A link 42a is pivoted at its rear end, as by rivet 43, to the outer end of arm 35 of a front carrier link 36 in shape of a bell crank, and is pivoted at its forward end, as by rivet 44 to an upper arm 45 of said lever 41.

Pivoted to the junction of arms 35, 37 of bell crank 36, as by rivet 47, is a link 48 which extends downwardly in the retracted condition of the legrest linkage 42. Pivoted to the lower end of link 48, as by rivet 49 is the lower end of a lever 50. Lever 50 crosses lever 41 and is pivoted thereto by a rivet 52 (disposed below pivot point 44). Pivoted to the lower end of lever 41, as by rivet 53, is a link 54. The upper end of link 54 is pivoted to said legrest link 57 by a rivet 58. Rivet 34 is located between rivets 43 and 47.

Leverf50 carries a stop 59 adapted to contact an edge ofthe upper arm of 41 when the legrest linkage is in retracted position, as shown in FIG. 1.

Only one side of the chair has been described, it being understood that both sides are similar and symmetrically disposed. This structure thus far described is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No.,3,243,226 issued Mar. 29, 1966 to said Alex J. Katz.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown the arm mounting plate or support plate 12 shown in FIG. 1. Fixed to the inner side of said plate 12, as by fixed rivets 69, is a pivot plate having an offset downwardly extending arm 71. Pivoted to said offset arm 71 as by rivet 72 is an arm 73 of a manual bell crank 74. Said manual bell crank 74 has an arm 75 extending in a transverse direction. Arm 73 carries astop pin 76 at an intermediate portion thereof. At the outer end of said arm 73 is a'rivet 77 to which is pivotally connected, one end of a primary actuator link 78. Arm 73 inclines downwardly and forwardly when the leg rest linkage is retracted, as in FIGS. 1 and 2. The primary actuator link 78 has an arm 78a inclined upwardly sharply to the rear, in the retracted condition of the legrest. Extending from arm 78a is an arm 78b inclined more to the horizontal, and rearwardly for the purpose hereinafter appearing. F ixedly riveted to arm 75 of the manual bell crank 74 as by bolts 79 and disposed in front of it, is a wall 80 of transverse member 81 having a top forwardly extending strengthening rib or flange 82.

Also fixed to arm 75 of manual bell crank 74, as by said bolts 79, is an arm 83 of a handle bracket 84 extending outwardly (to the right side of the chair). Arm 83 passes through a notch 83a in the lower edge of plate 12.

Extending forwardly at right angles to arm 83, is an arm 84 to which the handle 85 is fixed. Arm 83 has a strengthening forwardly offset flange 84a disposed above flange 82.

To stabilize the handle 75 and handle bracket 84, one end of the transverse member 81 is bolted securely to the handle bracket arm 83 and to the inwardly turned arm 75 of the manual bell crank 74, as shown.

The other end of the transverse member 81 is bolted securely to a pivot bracket (not shown) symmetrical and similar to manual bell crank 74, except that it does not carry pin 76 or rivet 77. Such pivot bracket is pivoted, as by a rivet (not shown) similar to rivet 72, to a pivot plate (not shown) like pivot plate 70, fixed to a support or mounting plate (not shown) like plate 12, on the left side of the chair (right hand facing mechanism).

At the rear end of arm 78b of the primary actuator link is a rivet 90. Pivoted to the rivet is a sequence drive link 91. Said sequence drive link 91 has a downwardly and rearwardly extending arm 92 and an upwardly and rearwardly extending arm 93 (FIG. 1). The rivet 90 is at the junction of arms 92, 93. Also pivoted to said rivet 90 is a sequence control link 95 carrying a pin 96 at its lower end (FIG. 1) slidably received in slot 30 of the downward extending arm of rear carrier link 26. Attached to the mounting or support plate 12 by a rivet 96a is a crank mounting bracket 100. Said bracket 100 is inclined upwardly and rearwardly and is fixed to the mounting or support plate 12 by rivet 101. The three rivets 96a, 98 and 101 fix members 97 and 100 against movement relative to plate 12 because the plate 12, and members 97 and 100 make the three sides of a fixed triangle. The outer end of arm 92 is pivoted by rivet 92a to the forward end of mounting bracket 100. Rivets 92a and 96 are coaxial in the retracted position of the leg rest mechanism, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing. Pivoted to the outer end of arm 93 of the sequence drive link 91, as by rivet 102, is a secondary actuator link 103 which is inclined downwardly and rearwardly in the retracted HO. 1 position of the chair.

Pivoted, as at 104, to the fixed bell crank mounting bracket 100, is a primary bell crank 105. Said bellcrank 105 has an arm 106 which extends downwardly and forwardly in the FIG. 1 position of the mechanism, and is pivoted as at 107, to the outer end of the secondary actuator link 103. Said primary bell crank 105 has a second arm 108 which is inclined downwardly and rearwardly. as shown in H6. 1. The distance of rivet 110 to rivet 104 is the same as the distance of rivet 101 to rivet 104, for the purpose hereinafter appearing.

Pivoted to the rivet 110, is one end of primary drive link 111 which carries a rivet 112 at its upper end.

Pivoted to the rivet 101 is the lower end of a back carrier link 114 carrying a rivet 115 at its upper end.

Pivoted to rivet 112 is an arm 116 ofa secondary bell crank 117. Said secondary bell crank 117 has a second arm 118 at an angle thereto. At the junction of arms 116, 118 is a rivet 119. Arm 118 has a transverse offset flange 120. Said arm 118 carries a rivet 121a.

Fixed to said flange 120 by bolt 121 is a transverse square tubular torque member 122 which extends across the chair from the right side to the left side of the chair.

The seat link 28 has at its rear end, an upwardly extending arm 130. Pivoted to the upper end of said arm 130, as on rivet 131, is a high-low mounting link 132. Said high-low link 132 is substantially Y shaped, having arms 133, 134, 135. Arm 133 extends upwardly and carries said rivet 131. lt also carries a rivet 136 spaced rearwardly of rivet 131. Arm 134 projects downwardly from arms 133, 135 and carries a rivet 137. Arm 135 is inclined upwardly and rearwardly and carries the rivet 115 to pivotally connect the high-low mounting link 132 to the upper end of the back carrier link 114. Arm 118 of the secondary bell crank is pivoted by said rivet 121a to the arm 135 of the high-low mounting link 132. The distance from rivet 121a to rivet 112 is same as the distance from said rivet 121a to rivet 115.

Pivoted to the rivet 137 is a lower carrier link 140. Said lower carrier link 140 is pivoted by pivot 141 to a backrest mounting link 142, which is fixed by rivets or bolts 143, 144, 145 to a backrest side panel 146 of backrest B. Said backrest side panels are attached to backrest shields 147, 148. Said backrest side panels are interconnected by backrest cross-rail 149. Said lower carrier link 140 extends below the rivet 141, at 150. On extension 150 is a pin 151. Pin 151 is connected by a coil tension spring 152 to a loop 154 mounted on the crossrail 149.

Pivoted to the backrest mounting link 142, as by rivet 160, is an upper carrier link 161 which goes around and over the pivot 115, in spaced relation thereto, and is pivoted to said rivet 136 on arm 133 of the high-low mounting link 132. A secondary drive link 165 is pivoted, at one end, to rivet 119 and is pivoted, at its opposite end, by rivet 166 to an upper portion of the upper carrier link 161. A stop pin 167 on the upper carrier link 161 contacts the link 165 in theraised position of the backrest, as will appear hereinafter, and as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing.

The handle 85, the manual bell crank 74, the primary actuator link 78, the sequence drive link 91, the sequence control link 95, the bell crank mounting bracket 100, the bell crank mounting bracket foot 97, the secondary actuator link 103, the primary bell crank 105, the primary drive link 111, the secondary bell t crank 117, rivets 77, 90, 92a, 102, 104, 107, 110, 112,

pin 76 exist on the left facing mechanism, only. As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawing, a drive crank 170 takes the place of secondary bell crank 117. Said drive crank 170 comprises an arm 171 similar to arm 118 of secondary bell crank 117. Extending from arm 171 is an arm or flange 172 which projects in a transverse direction and is coplanar with flange 12.0. The transverse torque member 122 is fixed to flange 172 by bolts 173 and thus operatively connects drive crank 170 to the secondary bell crank 117.

Members 19, 23, 30, 36, 42, 41, 48, 50, 54, 28, 26, 132, 161, 142, 140, 165, 114 and springs 152 and their connections exist on both sides of the chair, although they are shown only on one side (the left hand facing side or right side of the chair).

The following sequence describes the operation of the left hand facing mechanism, as viewed from the right hand facing side of the chair and as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the drawing.

Starting from the down position of the backrest B (conventional, low-profile club chair position), the backrest is locked in the down position by rivet 77 being below the common center line of rivets 72 and 90, and the primary actuator link 78 is stopped against pin 76. This arrangement prevents the springs 152 from raising the backrest B when the handle is in the position of FIG. 1.

Since the primary actuator 78, the sequence drive link 91 and the sequence control link 95 are all pivotally connected to one another by rivet 90, the sequence control link 95, being locked by the position of the parts shown in FIGS. 1, (with the legrest linkage retracted) forces the rivet or pin 96 against the bottom end of the slot in the rear carrier link 26, thus locking the recliner in the upright, sitting position of the chair.

To raise the backrest B, the handle 85, the handle bracket 84, and the manual bell crank 74 are manually rotated together, clockwise around the rivet 72, to move the primary actuator link 78 to the right, by means of rivet 77, rotating the sequence drive link 91 and rivet 90 clockwise around the center of rivet 92a. Rivet 96 remains forced against the bottom end of the slot 30 ofthe rear carrier link 26 and consequently the recliner remains locked in the upright, sitting position until rivet 90 stops in a position concentric with rivet 25 on rear bell crank 19, on which the rear carrier link 26 is pivotally mounted, and the backrest is in the up position.

The rotation of the sequence drive link 91 around rivet 92a drives the secondary actuator link 103 downwardly and rearwardly by means of rivet 102, thus rotating the primary bell crank 105 counter-clockwise, 1

looking at FIG. 1, around rivet 104 by means of rivet 107. This operation will drive the primary link 111 upward by means of rivet 110 until rivet 110 becomes concentric with rivet 101 and rivet 112 becomes concentric with rivet 115. These two concentricities will occur coincidentally with the concentricity of rivets 90 and 25, as shown in FIG, 2, when the backrest B reaches the "up" position.

The upward movement of the primary drive link 111 and the rivet 112, rotates the secondary bell crank 117 counter-clockwise around the rivet 121a.

The above steps occur concurrently in both the right hand facing and left hand facing mechanisms through the torque bar 122, thus imparting a bilateral lift to the backrest B of the chair.

Secondary bell crank 117 and drive crank 170, by means of rivet 119 move secondary drive links 165 which in turn rotate upper carrier links 161 counterclockwise around the rivets 136 by means of rivets 166, until secondary drive links 165 stop against limit stop pins 167, in the "up position of the backrest B. This rest position occurs concurrently with the concentricity of rivets 110, 101, rivets 112, 115 and rivets 90, 25.

Counter-clockwise rotation of the upper carrier links 161 move backrest mounting links 142 upward by means or rivets 160, thus rotating lower carrier links 140 counter-clockwise around rivets 137 by means of rivets 141.

Lower carrier links 140 act as control links and complete the parallelograms which determine the angular position of the backrest B to the seat.

Helical springs 152 assist in lifting the backrest by rotating the lower carrier links 140 counter-clockwise about rivets 137.

As the secondary drive links 165 approach their rest positions against limit stop pins 167, rivets 119 cross the common center line of rivets 121a and 166, thus locking the backrest B in the up position.

As this locking occurs and rivet becomes concentric with rivet 25, rear carrier link 26 and the sequence control link become free to rotate about rivets 90 and 25 to allow the chain to move to the T.V. position of FIG. 3 and the fully reclined position of FIG. 4.

The concentricity of rivets 101, and 112, in the up backrest position, allows the primary link 111 and the back carrier link 114 to move in unison while the chair is moving from the upright sitting position to the T.V. and fully recline positions and back again without moving the handle or disturbing the relative positions of the links 140, 142, 117, 161, 165, 132. This arrangement keeps the backrest in the up position throughout the recline cycle by isolating the high-low parallelogram from its primary drive system. In the T.V. and recline positions, the almost horizontal position of the primary drive link 111 prevents rotation of the primary bell crank 105 and thus prevents operation of the handle 85.

After the recline mechanism is returned to upright position, the second half of the high-low cycle, that is, the lowering of the backrest B from the locked up position to the locked down position, may be accomplished by reversing the sequence described above.

As sequence drive link 91 begins to rotate counterclockwise around rivet 92a, in the backrest lowering cycle, rivet 90 begins to move away from its position concentric with rivet 25, so that rivets 90 and 25 and 92a (which is concentric with rivet 96) form a triangle which prevents sequence control link 95 and the rear carrier link 26 from rotating around rivet 25, thus preventing the chair from moving into T.V. or recline positions. This triangle prevails and widens throughout the lowering cycle, thus locking the chair in the upright position when the backrest B is not up.

When the backrest is in the down position, the handle 85 is in a horizontal position, forward ofits pivotal axis, thus forcing the occupant to reach and lean forwardly away from the backrest, to preclude resting his back against the backrest while trying to raise the backrest.

To go from T.V. position back to upright (sitting) position, the occupant pulls himself forward by grasphing the arm rests of the chair and at the same time pushes down with his feet on the legrest to collapse the legrest and that will swing the back forwardly to upright position.

It will thus be seen that there is provided an article in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be under stood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative only.

We claim:

1. In a chair having a frame, a seat and a backrest, frame mounting means adapted to be fixed to the frame of the chair, manual handle means, means to mount said manual handle means for pivotal movement on said frame mounting means, a primary actuator link, means to mount said primary actuator link for pivotal movement relative to said manual handle means on an axis parallel to and spaced from the pivotal axis of said manual handle means on said frame mounting means, a sequence drive link pivoted to said primary actuator link, means to pivotally connect said sequence drive link to said frame mounting means, a sequence control link pivotally connected to the pivotal connection of said primary actuator link to said sequence drive link, a seat link adapted to be attached to the seat of said chair, a rear bell crank pivoted to said frame mounting means, a rear carrier link pivoted to said seat link, means to pivotally connect said rear bell crank to said rear carrier link below the pivotal connection of said rear carrier link to said seat link, said rear carrier link having an arm extending downwardly below the pivotal connection of said rear bell crank to said rear carrier link, said arm being formed with a longitudinal slot, slider means on said sequence control link slidable in said slot, a backrest mounting link adapted to be attached to the backrest of said chair, and means controlled by said sequence drive link to move said backrest mounting link up and down.

2. The combination of claim 1, the distance from the pivotal connection of said sequence drive link and said sequence control link with said primary actuator link, to the pivotal connection of said sequence drive link with said frame mounting means, being equal to the distance from the location of said slider means on said sequence control link to said pivotal connection of said sequence drive link and sequence control link with said primary actuator link.

3. The combination of claim 2, the distance from the pivotal connection of said sequence drive link with said primary actuator link, to the pivotal connection of said sequence drive link to said frame mounting means being equal to the distance from the pivotal connection of said rearcarrier link with said rear bell crank to the slider means, when the slider means is at the bottom of the slot in said arm of said rear carrier link.

4. The combination of claim 1, a pin fixed to said manual handle means, and positioned to engage said primary actuator link when the pivotal connection of said manual handle means to said frame mounting means is past a center line through the pivotal connections of said primary actuator link to said manual handle means and to said sequence drive link, upon moving said manual handle means in a direction to lower said backrest mounting link.

5. The combination of claim 1, a front bell crank pivoted to said frame mounting means, a link connecting said rear and front bell cranks, a front carrier linkpivoted to said frame mounting means and to said seat link, legrest linkage pivotally connected to said seat link and to said front carrier link, and means controlled by said front bell crank to project and retract said legrest linkage.

6. Hardware for a recliner chair having a frame, a

seat and a backrest and comprising a frame mounting plate, manual handle means pivoted to said plate and having a handle and an fixed to the handle, a primary actuator link pivoted to said arm on an axis spaced from and parallel to the pivotal connection of said manual handle means to said frame mounting plate, a seat link adapted to be attached to the seat of said chair. a rear carrier link, a rear bell crank pivoted to said frame mounting plate, means to pivot said rear bell crank to said rear carrier link, means to pivotally connect said rear carrier link to said seat link, a backrest mounting link adapted to be attached to the backrest of said chair, means controlled by said primary actuator link to raise and lower said backrest mounting link, said means controlled by said primary actuator link including means to lock said rear carrier link against being raised relative to said frame mounting plate when said seat link is in upright sitting position and said manual handle is in one predetermined position, in which position said backrest mounting link is in lowered position, and to permit rotation of said rear carrier link about its pivotal connection to said rear bell crank, after said manual handle means has been swung to another position, in which position the backrest mounting link is in raised position, such rotation of said rear carrier link being caused by rearward movement of said seat link.

7. The combination of claim 6, said means controlled by said primary actuator link comprising a sequence drive link, and means to stop rotation of said manual handle means back to the lowered position of said backrest mounting means, after the pivotal connection of said manual handle means to said frame mounting plate is past a center line through the pivotal connections of said primary actuator link to said arm of said manual handle means and to said sequence drive link.

8. The combination of claim 7, legrest linkage connected to said seat link, and means controlled by said rear bell crank to project and retract said legrest linkage.

9. The combination of claim 8, said means to lock said rear carrier link comprisingg a sequence control link pivoted so the pivotal connection of said primary actuator link to said sequence drive link, said seat carrier link having a downwardly extending arm formed with a longitudinal slot and a pin on said sequence control link disposed at the lower end of said slot when said backrest mounting link is in lowered position.

10. The combination of claim 9, said pivotal connection of said primary actuator link to said sequence drive link and sequence control link being movable to coaxial position with respect to the pivotal connection of said rear carrier link to said rear bell crank upon rotating said manual handle means from its position in which the backrest mounting link is lowered to its position in which the backrest mounting link is raised.

11. The combination of claim 10,-said means controlled by said primary actuator link'further comprising a secondary actuator link pivoted to said sequence drive link, a primary bell crank pivoted to said frame mounting plate, and means controlled by said primary bell crank to control movement of said backrest mounting link. 

1. In a chair having a frame, a seat and a backrest, frame mounting means adapted to be fixed to the frame of the chair, manual handle means, means to mount said manual handle means for pivotal movement on said frame mounting means, a primary actuator link, means to mount said primary actuator link for pivotal movement relative to said manual handle means on an axis parallel to and spaced from the pivotal axis of said manual handle means on said frame mounting means, a sequence drive link pivoted to said primary actuator link, means to pivotally connect said sequence drive link to said frame mounting means, a sequence control link pivotally connected to the pivotal connection of said primary actuator link to said sequence drive link, a seat link adapted to be attached to the seat of said chair, a rear bell crank pivoted to said frame mounting means, a rear carrier link pivoted to said seat link, means to pivotally connect said rear bell crank to said rear carrier link below the pivotal connection of said rear carrier link to said seat link, said rear carrier link having an arm extending downwardly below the pivotal connection of said rear bell crank to said rear carrier link, said arm being formed with a longitudinal slot, slider means on said sequence control link slidable in said slot, a backrest mounting link adapted to be attached to the backrest of said chair, and means controlled by said sequence drive link to move said backrest mounting link up and down.
 2. The combination of claim 1, the distance from the pivotal connection of said sequence drive link and said sequence control link with said primary actuator link, to the pivotal connection of said sequence drive link with said frame mounting means, being equal to the distance from the location of said slider meaNs on said sequence control link to said pivotal connection of said sequence drive link and sequence control link with said primary actuator link.
 3. The combination of claim 2, the distance from the pivotal connection of said sequence drive link with said primary actuator link, to the pivotal connection of said sequence drive link to said frame mounting means being equal to the distance from the pivotal connection of said rear carrier link with said rear bell crank to the slider means, when the slider means is at the bottom of the slot in said arm of said rear carrier link.
 4. The combination of claim 1, a pin fixed to said manual handle means, and positioned to engage said primary actuator link when the pivotal connection of said manual handle means to said frame mounting means is past a center line through the pivotal connections of said primary actuator link to said manual handle means and to said sequence drive link, upon moving said manual handle means in a direction to lower said backrest mounting link.
 5. The combination of claim 1, a front bell crank pivoted to said frame mounting means, a link connecting said rear and front bell cranks, a front carrier link pivoted to said frame mounting means and to said seat link, legrest linkage pivotally connected to said seat link and to said front carrier link, and means controlled by said front bell crank to project and retract said legrest linkage.
 7. The combination of claim 6, said means controlled by said primary actuator link comprising a sequence drive link, and means to stop rotation of said manual handle means back to the lowered position of said backrest mounting means, after the pivotal connection of said manual handle means to said frame mounting plate is past a center line through the pivotal connections of said primary actuator link to said arm of said manual handle means and to said sequence drive link.
 8. The combination of claim 7, legrest linkage connected to said seat link, and means controlled by said rear bell crank to project and retract said legrest linkage.
 9. The combination of claim 8, said means to lock said rear carrier link comprisingg a sequence control link pivoted to the pivotal connection of said primary actuator link to said sequence drive link, said seat carrier link having a downwardly extending arm formed with a longitudinal slot and a pin on said sequence control link disposed at the lower end of said slot when said backrest mounting link is in lowered position.
 10. The combination of claim 9, said pivotAl connection of said primary actuator link to said sequence drive link and sequence control link being movable to coaxial position with respect to the pivotal connection of said rear carrier link to said rear bell crank upon rotating said manual handle means from its position in which the backrest mounting link is lowered to its position in which the backrest mounting link is raised.
 11. The combination of claim 10, said means controlled by said primary actuator link further comprising a secondary actuator link pivoted to said sequence drive link, a primary bell crank pivoted to said frame mounting plate, and means controlled by said primary bell crank to control movement of said backrest mounting link. 